Article assembling and feeding machine



March 28, 1944. L. B wlLLouGHBY 2,345,310

ARTICLE ASSEMBLING AND FEEDING MACHIE l original Filed Aug. 12, 1940 4 sheets-sheet 1 iig: Y. i@

March 28, 1944. B. W|| OUG||BY 2,345,310

ARTICLE ASSEMBLING AND FEEDING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I'NVEA/TOR.

(ALW B (MWA @a mm2@ ATToK/V I ARTICLE ASSEMBLING AND FEEDING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IwEA/TORJ- .A Tram/H151 March 28, 1944. B W|LLQUG||BY 2,345,310

ARTICLE AssEMBLING AND FEEDING MACHINE y original Filed Aug. 12. 1940 4 'sheets-sheet 4 n 49 44/ XA 42 :CANE/vra@- i-@W 'JSP uw M;

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Patented Mar. 28, 1944 MACHINE Lively B. Willoughby, Louisville.,A Kvy.,".ss'gtn'or to Ballard & Ballard Company, incorporated,

Louisville, Ky.. a corporation of'Kentucky Original application Augustlg, 71940,;Serial; No. 352,341, now Patent No. 2,313,106; datedlvlarch 9, 1943. Divided and this-'applicatiox'rune 12, 1942, Serial No. '446,7 60

15 claims. (01.198535) f This invention relates to article packaging machines and more particularly to machines for stacking and dispensably feeding articles in packagable unit groups for packaging or preparatory wrapping, having reference to articles of cake or wafer form such as biscuits, candy slices andother bakery or confectionery manufactures, and the like.

The present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 352,341, iiled August 12, V1940, Iand issued March 9, 1943, as Patent No. 2,313,706.

Y, jAn object of the invention is to provide a ma` chine especially adapted to feed stacked groups of -uncooked dough cakes to a place orto another machine for protective wrapping preliminary to packaging or sealing in cans, having reference in particular to the packaged biscuitproduct of my prior U. S, Reissue Patent No. 13,426, dated April 19, 1932. This object however is not intended to be limited to saidproduct or to the handlingV of uncooked dough alone and in a broader sense contemplates application to the feed of various other products intended to be wrapped in stacked unit groupe Another object is to automatically arrange and deliver unit groups of the articlesin the desired uniform number forlwrapping or packaging and tohprovide vfor any variation of number in vsuch groups that may be' desired.

'f1 further object is to provide such a machine capable of rapid operationconformable to the ratel of plant production and which is relatively simple in Vc vns truction as well as economic inpurchase and maintenance cost, the same being designedt'o supplant or replace manual handling or gathering and stacking into wrappable unit groups.

Other objects will be hereinafter set forthand the complete 'concept of the invention wil1 be better understood from the followingA description made with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate'one practical embodiment of the invention in a very simple mechanical organizalon.

'Insaid drawings: n u I I Fig. 1 is aside elevation of the illustrative em-` bodiment;

Fig. 2`is atop plan view of the same, omitting an "associatedelement shown partially at the upper le'ft of Fig. 1v;

Fig. 31s a've'rtical sectional view takenontheV line 3,-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the directionof the arrows;

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view taken on the line ill-24" o'Fig. 1, looking' inthe direction of i the arrows; y 5 Figl' isafscct-idir, broknirpaitially away,"' taken onf'tlie nie "545 'oiffFig i 2, looking in the direciipofnea www, c, i

Fig? 611s an enlargedfdetailview cifapart'lofjtlie assembly "sonewhat'pbs'cud the plan of Flgjf2. Y' lzefz'erringw 'r'st of 1, an endless; conveyor 4I I is shown delivering the articlesQIQgconsistingin thisinstansabf fresh dough, 'bisuffOI-I! a rol-li' ngffarii cutting VImachine, continuous suc' cession into a' hoppert 'I3Sfat o` nd 'of'ani'acliine table: I4. LSaid'hl'lllier 'has ablwer with `Iits forward' V'side *and r"the articles "are 'dropped' thereme'o nieman.E fromjseid mower "1m- 'peis' them immediately' through its "oppositedischarge intoand progressively'fthriighaposturing cylinder I6. i Thiscylirlderfcorn'pri'ses a rotated member having internal; longitudinali 'ribbing' Ila (see Fig. 4),.-serving9tofposition thearticl'es' on edge -eect 4as they 'pass "ther@through f under Vv'the blower force. Itis advantag'e'ously neat supported uponcradling rollers Il through "annular bearingfadf lguide an'ge's I'Ib and'isrotatedby a.' driven sprocket cll'ain I'8 from the main driving shaftIQ whichis'i'n turn driven'by'themotor, the saidshaft andV- motor and thelsai'dfcradling rollers being ofi-course vsuitably supported on the machine table.

As thearticles IZ dropfrombelt, Minto hopper I3, the air blastfromiblwer VI5 blows same into the rotatingcylinder i6. As ythe articles 'enter the cylinder their 'speed is retarded inthe' direc'- tion of vblowing and atthe' same' timetheribs I6'a contact the articles 'and the two forces acting upon the 'articles "start the articles 'rotating under gyratory'action 'on edgesinces'anie are beinfg'simultaneo'usly rotated and blown within cylinder IS. yAs each "article proceeds through'the `cylinder vI6 it `is pushed into contact 'with'the preceding article thereinpreviouslydisposed adjacent.

the outer end ofthe cylinder. After about three or-four'such articles have' been accumulatedwith inthe cylindenthey emerge therefromonto ,the belt 2l underneath cylinder land'are carried away lthereon Aas -fast as subsequentarticles712V are vfed, into cylinder I6, The longitudinal'ribs l 6a within, cylindert6 permit escapementj'of some ofthe air from blower I5 around thefperipheries of articles I2 withinthe .cy1in1ier,'-andsard rib's Ilia furthermore Vreduce-a:substantial amount of friction between they articles and .walls'tof' cylinder'. I6 while thearticlesare being "forced through the cylinder ontotheconvyorbeltf2 I. While tliecyly inder with the 'articles thereinare rotating, the

air blast from blower I behind the articles forces same forwardly along the longitudinal ribs I6, which forward movement could not be successfully effected if the cylinder had smooth surfaced inner walls since: the alncould not escape varound the peripherie's offthe articles andthe friction between the articles and the smooth sides of the cylinder would be so great that the forward move- L Y tionally engages and thereby rolls the predeterment of the articles while rotating with the cylinder would be stopped. i

From the rearward end of said cylinder, the articles emerge upright onto autravelling endless carrier belt; 2|, extended inthe:v same direction,

and formed with a series of longitudinal Aperforations 2 la (see Figs. 2 and 3)..1r 'Ihisbelt is trained over supporting pulleys 22, supported in the table, 'A

and is separately driven asby fa--scnd motor 23 through belting or the equivalent connection with one of said pulleys or with the supporting shaft 22a thereof. On said belt 2 I, the articles build up enammalataside-by-Side in e .Stasked column as shown, overlying the perforations 2 Ia therein, -.sglf $31.116 .mOYeS real. Wal.' 'i1-Y in a continufus Pm* gressipn-synchronized with the rate of article delivery to and through the 'posturing cylinder. Feeding thus ,inl a* continuous Icolumn extruding from ,the cylinder, these articlesmutually tend to hold one another erect and compress sldewise against, acli other. 1

Advancngaanmeten, the leading arude yl2 Q1" Cgluma Comes etef.pr .etermind Point int pressure contact against 'a barrier plate 24. Thisplateis carrie'dlby a spring-arm 24a (see Figs. Ziand; 6) (supported upon the table structurehwhich yieldsusuiiiciently for the plate to be repressedorldeilected backward a shortdistance as indicat'ed by the, dotted linepositloning of Fig.; 6. As, it is repressed vby s force vof theadvaiicing'columny thereagainst Vsaid plate in turn presses against one end of a rocking shaft see IFig. l) and repressesgor slides the latter a shortfdistance rearward against the tension of a .return spring 25a. yThis rocking shaft carries a'. friction ldisc 126 onits opposite end which, upon itsprepression or,V rearward ,-shift, is brought into ontactwith acooperating continuously rotating friction wheel 21 driven as by a pulley-belt 28 from the-main driving shaft l 9. YContact between these two friction members causes said shaft to rock or rotate only partially in the actuated direction,` said members having only a light frictional contact withA each other adapting the rst to ready slippageagainst the second -under sulcient, resistance, to complete rotation. An arm 29.011 'the shaft connects bychain or other link 30 with a similar arm 3| Von one of a parallel pair of rocking levers 32` (see Fig. .3) intermediately pivoted and.- secured :to va ,common vshaft 33 ithereabove and rocks' said levers kdownward against counterbalanceweights 34v thereon, as it is itself rocked byengagement of the two friction mem bers.: I 4

Saidlevers form a carriage for av roller 35 rotatable therebetween onV a shaft 36 above the advanced column of articles. This roller is of a llength equal to the extentor number ofthe stacked* articles desired to be included in theunit groups tov be packaged-Which number consists of ten in this instance-' and is disposed on its said shaft sor as exactlyV to'overlie the said4 extent or number. of articles when the advancing column thereof'has-.moved fully against the barrier plate 24iv (note.Fig.!1). The aforesaid shaft 36 thereof carries fon one end a wheel 31k which contacts an endlessdriving belt 38, between. a pair of pulleys 39 (see Fig. 3) when it is swung downward with rocking of the levers 32, the said belt being trained over said pulleys, one of which functions as a tightener, and being driven from the main driving shaft. Swinging downward, with simultaneous rotation imparted from said belt, upon rocking of the levers as stated to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, said roller fricmined group number of articles sidewise olf the travelling carrier belt 2l into a receiver, later described, therebelow. Thereupon, pressure is released from the barrier plate 24 and said plate,

f the rocking shaft 25, and the rocking levers 32 carrying the roller 35 return to initial position `ready for the next actuation on advance of the article column again to press against said barrir plate. This operative cycle is repeated successively with each unit or group discharge of the articles, the speed being governed or restricted solely bythe rate of larticle feed in column formation. l

To ensure against the discharge of morev than the intended group number of articles, at any time,a suction box 40 is provided (see Figs. V2 and 3) under the carrier belt 2|, over which the latter supportively moves with its perforationsZ I a exposed direct to the action thereof. This box extendsA lengthwise of Ythe belt sufficient to act through said perforations upon several of the articles adjacent to the group to be removed,` or rearwardly to a point underlying the one-being the eleventh in this instance-next adjacent'to the last of a group being removed which will be the first of the group next to be removed. fSuc' tion applied to thev severalarticles'adjacent to the group actually .being rolled olf the carrier belt keeps any articles subject'to said suction from being drawn off by facial rub or cohesion by the group being removed. Said box is maintained under suction by a suction blower or pump 4| connected therewith by pipe 40a.

The groups of articles successively expunged from the carrier belt drop into a series of receiver n trays 42 brought successively into a receiving position thereunder (see Figs, 3 and v5). These-trays are'carried by an endless conveyor 43 moving transversely of the table. over' pulleys 44 and driven in this instance by an inner paralleling end-l less drive member 45, which latter is in turn driven through belt 46 from the main driving shaft. Said trays in the illustrated driving arrangement are. supported on their carrier upon upright bracket-'guide bolts 41 against lifting springs 48 thereunder at opposite ends (see Fig. 5) and carry engagement plates 49 on their bottom sides. VUnder weight'of the groups of articles dropped thereinto the trays depress against said lifting springs so as to bring said-engagement plates thereon into engagement with or in oppositionV to push lugs lor plates 50 on'the inner endless drive member 45. Said push lugs or plates coming into engagement with said engagement plates-drive the trays and their carrier forwardly vso "as to bring a successive tray into the receiving position. The trays thus moved successivelyl 'forward to an inverting discharge position indicated at X eject the articles onto a spring-sustained chute or slide 5l delivering them into the receptice trays 52 of a conveyor to or forming part of an article wrapping machine, represented par-l uauyin Figa; l J

f Itwill Ybe appreciated that this machine can be operated at any desired speed, depending upon' the rate at which the articles to be stacked and lassassin delivered in group for wrapping are fed'to and through the `posturing cylinder onto the travelling carrier or column formation belt.- Itwillalso be noted that thearticles' are discharged and .ejected from the machine .only as' the predetermined group number are'` accumulated andremoved from said belt. There is no possibility of any overrunning, or feeding faster than :thelfdischarge, or vice versa.. The removingor engaging roller 35 lis positively operatedv every time the intended group number of articles is brought thereunder into pressure against. the barrier plate 24 and a certain interval is requiredl to refill the vacancy resulting from the removalV or expulsion of said number.r` The parts operating in this function rapidly return to initial or normal position and are ready always to operate for the expulsion when column pressure is applied to said barrier plate. Thus, the speed or rate of operation is governed entirely by the rate of article accumulation or column formation upon the carrier belt bringing them rearwardly under the removing roller poised to eject the predetermined number in group from the machine.

The advantages of this invention and the machine it provides will be appreciated. It fills a need in the baking industry, especially in plants where fresh dough or the like product is to be packaged or canned in grouped number or stacked relation. Such a need has long been felt by bakers and confectioners alike, who desirel to employ machinery for the dual purpose of eliminating hand contact and manipulation and to substitute machinery for such manual labor. Although designed particularly for use in connection with fresh or unbaked dough, or unbaked dough biscuits such as the product of my aforementioned Reissue Patent No. 18,426, it is obviously applicable to any other product or manufacture such as candy, cooked cakes, fresh pineapple slices and the like.

Various changes can of course be made in the construction of the machine and in the form and arrangement of its several component Iparts within the broad scope and spirit of the invention and without exceeding the actual compre; hensibility thereof. Therefore, it is not intended to limit the same by the appended claims to the specific construction, organization or arrangement shown and described, nor to otherwise impose any restrictions thereon beyond what said claims in their recited terms specifically impose or define.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A machine for supplying articles in stacked relationship comprising, in combination, a hopper into which the articles are successively dropped; a blower by which the successively dropped articles are successively blown broadside; a rotated hollow member into and through which the articles expelled from the hopper are successively driven under action of said blower into forced positioning on edge; and an endless carrier onto which the articles from said member are successively fed on edge side by side in a continuously forming and advancing stacked column.

2. In a machine as set forth in claim 1, said hopper being trough-shaped and disposed between the blower and member in alignment with the axis of the blower outlet and the axis of the hollow member.

3. A machine for supplying articles in stacked relationship comprising, invcombination, a hopper vinto which the articles are successively dropped; a blower by which the successively dropped' articles are successively blown broadside; a rotatable cylinder into and through which the articles expelled from the hopper are successively driven under action'of said-blower into forced positioning .onedge, saidv cylinder having external annular'bearing flanges; cradling rollers engaging saidflanges; means for rotating said cylinder; and an endless carrier onto which the articles from saidcylinder are successively fed on edgeside by side ina continuously forming and advancing stacked column.

4. Inv a machine as set` forth in claim 3, said hopper being trough-shaped and disposed between the blower and cylinder in alignment with the axes of the blower outlet and cylinder.

5. A machine for supplying articles in stacked relationship comprising, in combination, a hopper into which the articles are successively dropped; a blower by which the successively dropped articles are successively blown broadside; a rotatable cylinder into and through which the articles expelled from the hopper are successively driven under action of said blower into forced positioning on edge; said cylinder having longitudinally extending ribs on its inner wall engaging the -peripheries of said articles passing therethrough to position same on edge therein; and an endless carrier onto which the articles from said cylinder are successively fed on edge side by side in a continuously forming and advancing stacked column.

6. In a machine as set forth in claim 5, said hopper being trough-shaped and disposed between the blower and cylinder in alignment with the axes of the blower outlet and cylinder.

7. A machine for supplying articles in stacked relationship comprising, in combination, a hopper into which the articles are successively dropped; a blower by which the successively dropped articles are successively blown broadside; a rotatable cylinder into and through which the articles expelled from the hopper are successively driven under action of saidblower into forced positioning on edge; said cylinder having external annular bearing flanges; cradling rollers engaging said flanges; means for rotating the cylinder; said cylinder having longitudinally extending ribs on its inner Wall en gaging the peripheries of the articles passing therethrough to position the same on edge therein; and an endless carrier onto which the articles from said cylinder are successively fed on edge side by side in a continuously forming and advancing stacked column.

8. In a machine as set forth in claim '7, said means comprising a sprocket on said cylinder; a drive sprocket; a chain running around the said sprockets; and means for rotating the drive sprocket.

9. In combination, a hopper into which articles are successively dropped; a blower by which the successively dropped articles are successively blown broadside; a rotatable hollow member into and through which the articles expelled from the hopper are successively driven under action of said blower into forced positioning on edge; and a receiver into which the articles from said member are successively fed on edge side by side.

l0. In a combination as set forth in claim 9, said hopper being trough-shaped and disposed between the blower and member in alignment with the axes of the blower outlet and member.

l11. In a combination as set forth in claim 9,

said hopper being trough-shaped and disposed engaging the flanges; and means for rotating the .l0

member.

13. In a combination as set forth in claim 9, said .member having longitudinally extending ribs on its inner wall engaging the peripheries of said articles passing therethrough to position 15 same on edge therein.

14. In a combination as set forth in claim 9, said member comprising a cylinder having ex ternal annular bearing flanges; cradling rollers engaging the flanges; a 'sprocket on said cylinder; a drive sprocket; a, chain running around said sprockets; and means for rotating saidA drive sprocket. n

1,5. In a combination as set forth in'claim 9; said member comprising a cylinder having external annular bearing anges; cradling rollers engaging the flanges; saidi member having longitudinally extending ribs on its inner wall engaging the peripheries of said articles passing therethrough to position same on edge therein; and means for rotating the cylinder.

Y LIVELY B. WILLOUGHBY. 

